Take Two: Asbestos delays rebuilding of South Coffman Street complex

Owner hopes burned-out apartment homes are replaced by August

Because the building at 1322 S. Coffman St. -- which sustained extensive damage in a Nov. 21 fire -- contained asbestos, taking it down requires extreme caution and extra time, owner Jon Bopp says.
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Lewis Geyer
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The burned-out apartment complex at 1322 S. Coffman St. will be rebuilt this year. But not quickly.

Owner Jon Bopp of Boulder said it will likely be the end of August before the six-unit building is back in shape and ready to rent. The holdup? Asbestos.

"The whole thing has to be taken down, abated and hauled off," said Bopp, who bought the building in 2002.

The Nov. 21 fire started accidentally. According to investigators, the chimney chase -- the structure that a chimney pipe goes through -- had deteriorated in the 40-year-old building, so that it heated and combusted when residents lit their first fire of the winter. The fire triggered an explosion in the attic, after which ceilings began falling and windows bursting.

Twenty-five people were displaced by the fire.

"I feel bad for the tenants," Bopp said. "They couldn't take anything out. All their possessions had to be taken to the landfill because of the asbestos. It was tough on them, tough on me -- we were all hurt in this disaster."

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Asbestos removal tends to be a slow process anyway, given the amount of paperwork and care involved. But that's even more true for the South Coffman Street building.

Since fire burned through the roof, it's more difficult to make sure that the work is properly sealed off. Any wind over 10 mph means the removal has to stop until the air calms. If particulates escape, the work has to stop until the source is found and choked off.

Depending on how long it takes to go through the state's process, it might be March before the big trucks with their big plastic envelopes arrive to begin work. Even that's a guess, Bopp said.

Once the old building is down, he said, he'll try for a more contemporary look on its replacement, or as much as the insurance money allows. Starting over means a chance for newer carpet, newer fixtures and the like. He'd been planning to do some remodeling anyway, he said, but events forced his hand.

"The neighborhood needs to be improved," he said. "I don't know if this'll do a big amount of improvement, but it'll help."

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